Big Sandy completed the girls' basketball season without a win but finished with a flourish in the final contest of 2021.
The Pioneers (0-14) took the long road Wednesday to Hays-Lodgepole and produced a more fruitful effort than their regular season finale generated four nights earlier at home.
"We didn't let the press kill us quite like it did when we played them in Big Sandy," Pioneers coach Pete Jerrel said. "We calmed down ... we trusted each other to make some plays."
The Thunderbirds still prevailed 57-26 to eliminate the Pioneers from the District 9C tournament but without such sustained scoring runs that proved demoralizing previously.
"It's a lot easier to play when it's a 15-point game and not a 25-point game in a matter of minutes," Jerrel said.
Big Sandy largely got better offensive output as the season wore on and spread the scoring among a wider set of players. Wednesday's game illustrated that again with Jaycee Worrall leading the team with 5 points, Lainey Terry and Jaihven Baumann chipping in 4 apiece and several others contributing either 2 or 3 points.
While the Pioneers struggled to reach double-digit scores as a team in some earlier contests, they posted 10 points by halftime in Hays and went out on a high note. Big Sandy poured in 14 points in the fourth quarter of the last game.
"There was some resilience," Jerrel said, after the team opened the tournament with a less-successful effort against top-ranked Fort Benton a night earlier. "We knew we were going to have to play tough and control the ball a bit ... and for a lot of the game, we were able to do that. They went out and gave it everything they had."
Against the Longhorns on Feb. 16, Big Sandy took a step back and lost to the eventual tournament runners up, 68-5.
Daisy LaBuda scored 3 points and Eva Wagoner had 2 for the Pioneers.
"We played like we were scared of them," Jerrel said, "worried about losing a game ... more than trying to compete in a game."
The Pioneers' young eighth-grader and sophomore-laden roster has a chance to return largely intact and improve next season. Seniors Madison Terry and Lily Winderl are the only players to graduate the program this year. The underclassmen have a clear picture and experience of what they are up against.
"The 9C does not get any easier. They're still going to be great teams in this division," Jerrel said. "If the girls want to work together as a team and as individuals ... we can compete."
The coach said there are 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 offseason tournament opportunities for players and hours of practice make a difference.
"If you're going to be a good shooter in basketball, you're going to put up a couple thousand shots over the summer," Jerrel said. "It's going to take that repetition. To be a better ball handler, it takes a lot of hours dribbling the basketball. It can't all be done in a chair dribbling the ball, it's up and running with that ball."
